Return to underdog role could be good news for Flames goalie Brian Elliott

And if you’ve been following his National Hockey League career, you already know the Calgary Flames’ puck-stopper has delivered some of his finest performances when cast in that exact role.

“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten away from that,” Elliott said. “The attitude I try to bring to rink is that you have to work for everything you get in this league. That statement hasn’t disappointed me.

“It’s something that I haven’t changed — my outlook or attitude. I’m just kind of sticking to the gameplan.”

Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan hasn’t revealed his goaltending gameplan for the next two nights, but Monday’s matchup against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena (7 p.m., Sportsnet Flames/Sportsnet 960 The Fan) seems like a logical spot for Elliott’s first start since late November.

And even if Chad Johnson gets a ninth consecutive crease call as the crew from Calgary aims to rebound from back-to-back losses, the other masked man could be between the pipes 24 hours later for Tuesday’s tussle with the San Jose Sharks.

“You just have to be ready whenever called upon,” Elliott said prior to Sunday’s afternoon flight to warmer climes. “Whenever it may be, I’ll be ready. It’s nothing different.”

He won’t say it, but Elliott’s stint at the Saddledome started different.

For the first time in his NHL career, the 31-year-old netminder from Newmarket, Ont., was the clear-cut, undisputed, go-to goalie.

That wasn’t really the case for Elliott during his days with the Ottawa Senators, the Colorado Avalanche or the St. Louis Blues.

Even en route to registering the NHL’s best save percentage last season, he split the workload in St. Loo with Jake Allen.

And even after posting that sparkling .930 mark, even after leading his squad to the semifinal stage of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Blues were willing to swap him to Calgary for a second-rounder in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Here, he was going to be THE GUY.

Finally.

It didn’t last long. For the past few weeks, he’s done as much sitting as an Elf on the Shelf.

Elliott logged 20 minutes of mop-up work in Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Saddledome, but his most recent start was back on Nov. 28 — a 2-1 overtime defeat against the New York Islanders in Brooklyn.

That’s a long time to wait between assignments, especially when you’re anxious to improve a cringe-worthy stat-line that currently shows a 3-9-1 record, a 3.31 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage.

Elliott has the same number of victories so far this season as Aaron Dell, Michael Hutchinson, Keith Kinkaid, Darcy Kuemper and Al Montoya, all waiver-wire fodder in your fantasy league.

The Flames’ now-backup hasn’t celebrated a W since Oct. 28.

Yes, October 28th.

“When you watch him practise and you see a guy in practice work that hard, and he has good habits on and off the ice, you know there are going to be ups and downs, but they are always going to come out on top,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano of Elliott. “That’s the way I look at him. Looking forward to his next one, for sure.

“I thought his last (start) on The Island, in New York, was great. And the next time he gets in, we have to put in a performance in front of him because we know he comes to the rink with a positive attitude every day and practises hard for all of us. We have to remember that in the back of our head and put a performance out there for him.”

That ‘next time’ could be Monday against the Desert Dogs, or maybe Tuesday in San Jose.

Even if Elliott’s waiting game continues until Friday or even beyond the Christmas break, he’ll be ready.

He’s an underdog again.

That hasn’t been a bad thing.

“He has been in the underdog role a lot in his career, and he has thrived in it,” Gulutzan agreed after Sunday’s practice. “Johnny has played really well, but we have two great goalies here and when (Elliott) comes in, he just needs to play the way he’s capable of playing and the way he’s played his whole career.”

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